Building new garage .. Anyone have land surveying experience?
 

So I am getting the paperwork together this week to get the ball rolling on the permits for the new garage. Timeline is looking like 2-3 months for the variance to pass then a couple weeks for permits. Hoping to start building next vacation. 28x36 or 28x40 is what I am looking at building so 1000-1100sqft. Large workshop with atleast a 25x25 2 car garage. Ive made the changed to the pic for my 28x40 in red. Either way it should fit the lines of the house nicely and still have room to grow;).

So ..... I have a plat drawing that came with the house ... circa early 2000 for other permits the PO applied for. I can not seem to find any of the pins or stakes. I have a funky corner lot according the the zoning office which they say shouldn't have happened. Because its a corner lot with 2 roads next to it they are calling my entire lot a front yard. The house is right on the forward BRL with a ton of backyard space. This makes give me a 50ft BRL on 270 deg of the property which is an absolute waste. They are going to get me a variance to make it so I can build an attractive garage but still use some land management options so I dont waste my land. I would like to use the area in the bottom right section of my plot. The blue dot is my well ... so I want to stay away from that. I have two proposed options. One is putting it right on the back lot line parallel to the house and the other on the road side perpendicular to the house.

I have gone out with the plat and a tape but the lot is getting alot smaller then AA county says I have. Either there is something missing on the plat or its not only off scale but the orientation is way off. Not sure if plat drawings are non scale etc. Anyone have any experience with these? Could the plat be wrong and worth getting another one done?

Anyone have advice from having dealt with AA county for a garage permits in the last couple years or had to get a variance passed thru zoning?

Bob Flynn (recommended him in another thread) can put you in the right direction. Tell him Mark Lee with RE/MAX in Timonium sent you.

That garage is sweet. Is it going to be below grade? The photo makes the lot look really flat (i.e. above grade). If it's hilly, are you using a concrete foundation or block for the walls? Are you planning on an interior French drain with a sump pump?

Thanks Mark. It will be above grade. The land is fairly flat but with enough elevation to have it drain well. I will have a few rows of blocks in Opt#1 in the back wall since it is a little higher there but not anywhere near what the plan stretch looks like. IDK why they have the pic like that. Still should look right to a 50's era ranch. Very Mid century modern. Dont want a barn in the back yard, lol. I wanted something that would blend with the house well.

Cool. I'm shopping for closed cell foam insulation contractors for our new house and the garage; let me know if you need this info. My new garage (detached) has zero insulation and is crazy cold.

Love your plan and the lot. Wish I was closer!

Sounds like Mark is getting you to a good resource. My dad was a surveyor in N. Va and I worked many summers and breaks for him back in the day. Sometimes you get lucky finding iron pipe corner markers, sometimes you need a metal detector. Fees aren't outrageous for fixing this - here is an example quote -

Lot Stakeout / Property Line Stakeouts (No plat, Stakes set in the ground at your property corners and along the property lines)
Lots less than half an acre $330**
Lots less than an acre $370**
Larger than an acre -- by quote**
Setback Certification = house location Fee + $60 ($340 for most lots)

This is for N. Va. I remember my dad cursing out many a plat surveyor or builder who disturbed the iron pipes. Good luck and post pix of your build!

i think you need a new plat. compared to the overhead pics, the house is not even oriented in the same way on the lot. the plat is not even close to reality.

Marshall ... Thats what I was thinking. The survey was done for septic work so I dont know if they just stopped once they found out where they would put the system. The one I have isnt a boundary survey so I think it is smart money to just get a new one. Atleast then I can have them stake out some other spots while I have them there. It will probably run atleast $400-500 for a new plat. I am headed to a guy tmrw with what I have. I half tempted to not provide what I have now so its truly unbiased.

Plats typically aren't graphically accurate. You need to redraw on CAD or on some scaled paper using the dimensions lot line info provided on the plat if you want an accurate site plan to play with.

Congratulations! I'm surprised a survey wasn't required for the purchase. I guess folks with Cobra's don't need banks! Ha! :) The place looks awesome. I had hoped the red line was the garage walls and the yellow was parts storage :) Good luck with the build!

If you have one it's a great base for any future work. I'm starting something similar and after a few calls, the drawing from closing is what I'm working from. exactamd.com does lots of these, might work for you.

My dad did similar work with a tape measure and a pencil, AA county had no issue with his drawing.